CONNECTION BASED PARENTING THERAPY
IN SEATTLE & WASHINGTON STATE
Do you know who often gets overlooked when talking about parenting? It's parents!
I’m here to change that with solid support for parents.
Parents often read books and take courses to "improve" their parenting, but three weeks after they put the book down, they feel frustrated that they have not been able to create long lasting change in their families.
What’s missing is the support of a professional who can help you work through challenges unique to your family or yourself as an individual facing the good, bad, and ugly of parenthood head on.
I bring my 15 years of experience as a parenting coach and therapist to provide a judgment-free zone. Through connection based parenting therapy we’ll discuss difficult moments in parenting and learn skills to take care of your kids in a way that builds cooperation along with connection.
WHY CONNECTION?
As parents, connection is your superpower.
My mission is to help you use connection rather than control to create the relationships you want with your children.
Without connection, we lose our influence over our kids and over time we lose our parenting power. It can create a cycle of bad behavior that feels impossible to get out of and feelings of frustration and failure rob of us joy.
Through connection based parenting therapy, I’ll teach you strategies and tools you can use in your daily life to help build connection and respect, set and hold clear boundaries, teach self-discipline, and ultimately transform your home environment.
You’ll be equipped to help your children develop secure attachments, which will benefit them through all the ups and downs they will experience, as older kids, adolescents, and adults.
Connection Based Parenting Therapy in Seattle & Washington
Kirsten Jensen Counseling helps you gain insight into the beliefs, patterns, and rules that we each bring to parenting.
With clarity comes the opportunity to incorporate new skills into our parenting and have them stick. Through our work in therapy, parents help children learn to identify and cope with feelings, enhance self-confidence and competence, reduce anxiety about challenging life events, and develop skills to promote appropriate behavior.
The result is often more connection with your kids, more peace in your home, and more confidence as you shape your family culture.
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Parenting Therapy may be a good fit for you if you’ve experienced challenges related to the following:
Behavior
Aggression
School Life
Power Struggles
Sibling Rivalry
Emotional Regulation
Family Conflict
Sleep & Eating Issues
Health Issues
Lightbulb moments that make parenting more joyful
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Lightbulb moments that make parenting more joyful 🤍
Clients often tell me, “Wow, I didn’t realize…
…that discipline means ‘to teach’ and doesn’t mean punishment.”
…how I’ve gotten so busy with life that I don’t play with my kids the way I used to.”
…how much my parenting has been affected by my background.”
…that my child triggers the feelings I have about my mom/dad.”
…that I often ask my child to do what I want, but I rarely do what they want.”
Providing kind and candid support while you do the hard work
🤍
Providing kind and candid support while you do the hard work 🤍
MY APPROACH TO PARENTING THERAPY
I prioritize your well-being & relationship with your child with the aim of helping you raise well-adjusted, emotionally competent children.
When we face parenting challenges it's often because there are gaps in our own childhoods around the same issues. Finding new ways to manage these challenges can feel daunting when we have no past references to use as a roadmap.
I want to help your family reduce its stress level by providing you with strategies and by helping you develop healthy communication patterns.
As a family therapist, I view each individual as part of a family system, with our relationships profoundly influencing each of us. The impact of societal messaging and expectations are often explored in our work together, and I welcome families of all identities. I offer attachment-based individual and connection-based parenting therapy sessions that will help you explore, understand, and find the solutions you want.
“Kirsten’s insight and expertise were extremely helpful in solving various behavioral issues with my daughter.”
She provided me with a solid foundation to connect with my daughter (and along the way, with my husband too!). I received tools to support my daughter through emotional upheavals, as well as ways to communicate with more ease and calm. The strategies she provided solved our issues and brought our family closer, and were fun to implement.”
What’s Covered During a Typical Therapy Session?
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We discuss what’s going on in your work and in your family, challenges you're facing, and create treatment goals, strategies, and practical tools you can use.
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We explore the family dynamics in the family you grew up in. How was conflict handled? How was money viewed? What were unwritten rules?
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We relate current dynamics to your personal experiences from your childhood. We process all the feelings, good and bad, about your situation. Exploring truths is part of the process.
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We slow things down and make space for you. Together, we find clarity, ease the overwhelm, and strengthen your connection with your kids. We talk about the power of emotional connection.